Heart of Darkness
by Ticklesivory
Summary: Obidala..of course. Events in ObiWan's life lead him down a dark path.
1. Chapter 1

Heart of Darkness

AN: My muse has been on vacation (and didn't take me with him!) I was getting a little worried and reading everything I could get my eyes on, when this storyline finally came to me. 

I don't think I've read anything like this before in Obidala. Yes, it's a little AU, a little dark, and a little different, so please bear with me. : )

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Prologue

Ominous clouds roll in, consuming each and every shaft of light on the planet. Soon, it is so dark, he can barely see his hand in front of his face. 

Reaching out to the Force for assistance, Obi-Wan is shocked to discover he cannot touch its power. It is being chased away on the shadows enveloping the landscape before him. 

His feet carry him quickly across the rolling hills, stumbling occasionally in the receding light, his hands groping for a trace of the power that is fleeting just beyond his reach. 

His feet falter and he falls. Darkness surrounds him, ebbing and flowing like a sea of despair. His eyes widen in terror at the loss piercing his soul and the single word 'No' forms on his mouth, only to be drowned out by the echo of another much louder version. His own voice in the distance, screaming. It is filled with such anguish and pain. 

Rolling onto his back, his eyes squint into the blackened skies. The clouds are gathering, rolling, rumbling with power. Flashes of light streak across their dark depths and offer him momentary glimpses of the future. No, not his future. His past. 

A flash of a face. A hideous face of red and black. Another flash of a lightsaber glowing red as well. 

And then pain. He gasps. It is not his pain but his hand clutches his chest anyway. 

Another flash of light, this one red and he sees himself kneeling, mourning, the form of his lifeless Master lying in his arms. 

The grief consumes him, followed soon by a bitter emotion he has not known since he was a boy.

Complete and utter loneliness. 

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TBC... 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

"Obi-Wan."

That soft voice was beckoning to him, rippling in a wave on the underside of the dark clouds above him.

"Obi-Wan."

A lone white light pierced through to shine on his face. His hand instinctively reached up to welcome it, embrace it, but the contact with it burned his skin and withdrew his hand immediately, his eyes flying open.

"Obi-Wan."

Clearing vision revealed a friendly face. A beautiful face. One that he should remember. Padme, that was her name. She was the Queen of Naboo.

His mind struggled in his confusion and remorse. His master had died recently at the hands of a Sith warrior, in this very room – and somehow, this young woman was responsible.

She was smiling at him now. But it wasn't a smile of happiness. It was one of sympathy and he detested it. He didn't need her sympathy.

A soft hand touched his face, which had him on his feet in an instant, intentionally looking away from the pained expression on her face.

She was kneeling on the cold floor near to where another body had been lying, but was no longer there. His eyes took in the oval room, the pit, the red glowing force field gates, and eventually swung back to meet her gaze. He saw a variety of emotions there – confusion, pain, sympathy, and fear.

Fear.

He could feel that emotion within him as well. It was not one that he was accustomed to, but he could feel it clawing its way into his very soul.

"Obi-Wan. Are you all right?"

"No." He knew that much.

Just then, the force fields gates swung into position, their sound reminding him of the reality of where he was and what had happened.

"Master Jinn?" He mumbled, unsure if his voice had carried beyond the hum of the generators.

"He's dead, Obi-Wan."

He already knew that and he couldn't understand why he had asked. He could recall it quite clearly now; at least up until the point his Master had drawn his final breath. After that, he had no memory. He must have passed out, and then the visions had started.

The murdering Sith was dead, cut in half by his own blade, but the darkness that had emanated from the being still lingered in this room and on this planet. It was a heavy moisture in the air and it was suffocating him. He needed to run, to get away from it. He couldn't breathe. He had to find a place where he could breathe.

She was suddenly before him, her hands upon his arms.

"Don't touch me."

"Obi-Wan, don't do this to us." The tearspreviously unshedwere now falling from her eyes.

"Us." His own eyes revealed his confusion. There was an 'us?' He was silent for a moment, reflecting back through the shadows of darkness most prevalent in his mind. That's right. There was. They had hidden it from everyone, met in secret, hid their desires and their passion. They had risked everything for just a few moments to be together, unsure of what their future would bring, only knowing that they had to touch, had to hold, had to be, no matter what the Code forbid, no matter what the Force had destined.

She was still staring and his hands suddenly gripped her arms as he forcefully shoved her backward until she hit the wall, his mouth coming immediately down upon hers roughly, ravaging.

Padme whimpered a slight protest, but he didn't stop, his hands now vigorously groping. No. This was wrong. Something was wrong.

Obi-Wan stumbled away, rubbing the scratch marks now showing red upon his face.

"Who are you?" The soft voice was now a frightened gasp.

Valid question. He wasn't sure any more. At one time, he had been training to become a Jedi Knight under the tutelage of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Hehad beenfull of vigor, full of confidence, compassion, and light.

Now, all that filled him was despair, fear, and anger.

Anger.

"It's your fault." He backed away a step. His words were bitter and stungher on impact. "If we hadn't come to this forsaken planet, none of this would have happened! My Master would be alive and I….I…."

His words were painful but Padme knew that they were born from his grief and she urged him to speak. "You what?"

"I can't feel the Force any more!"

His eyes were wide and his words were loud, shocking her with both their intensity and volume.

Padme watched in stunned silence as Obi-Wan's chest heaved a few shallow breaths and then in wild fury, turned and fled the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

No direction. His feet were flying and he had no idea where he was going. He just knew he needed to get out. Get out of this building, away from this darkness, into the light, into the woods where the Living Force would be. Had to be. 

Lungs heaving for oxygen, he leaned heavily onto his knees and heard the approach of footsteps. Glancing up, his eyes met with those of Master Yoda and Master Windu. Several other council members were behind them. They all stopped and stared at the young Jedi on the steps of the palace, gasping for breath, a terrified look upon his face. 

Obi-Wan's gaze was locked onto the small but powerful Master's. They must have all come here for Qui-Gon's burial. When they found out what had happened, they would condemn him. Yoda would never forgive him. Qui-Gon was his student. Yoda had loved him. 

He had failed. 

He was alone. 

He ran and didn't look back.

Bushes slapped at his leggings, thorny limbs tore at his tunic and still he ran. His boot became ensnared by a thick growth of vines and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. His gasps soon turned to sobs and he began to mourn. He mourned for the loss of his Master. He mourned for the loss of the Force, but mostly he mourned for the love that he just realized he had lost. Padme. He had loved her, once. But it wasn't meant to be. The Code forbid it. The Force forbid it. 

He had ignored them both and now he was paying the price. 

Forcing himself to stand, nausea and vertigo swept over him and he fell once more, this time to his knees. Opening his eyes, he noticed the woods had darkened and he gasped as a spindley tendril of shadow crept over the ground and moved towards him. He watched in horror as that inky shadow grew up from the ground and transformed into the shape of a human. It then began to glow blue and once focused, he realized that the apparition was Master Qui-Gon. 

"Master!" The declaration was almost a sob on his lips. 

"Why Obi-Wan?" The image faded momentarily and re-appeared to his left.

"Why what Master?"

"Why did you fail me? You let him kill me." 

"No Master." 

Once more the image faded and re-appeared, behind him this time, and Obi-Wan spun on his knees to face it. 

"You failed Obi-Wan. You failed me, you failed the Jedi."

"No!" Obi-Wan threw his hands to his face in despair, unable to bare to hear any more, but a powerful dark force bound his wrists and drew them back down.

"You betrayed me! You betrayed the Jedi Order! You know attachment is forbidden! Why Obi-Wan? After everything I had taught you. You threw it all away for the attention of one young woman? You sacrificed everything! Look at what your selfishness cost!"

Qui-Gon opened his robe to reveal a large black hole in the center of his chest, right where the Sith had speared him with his weapon. 

Obi-Wan slammed his eyes shut, a sob erupting from his throat. "I'm sorry Master. I'm sorry."

"It's too late Obi-Wan. The Light has abandoned you. You are not worthy to serve it. There is nothing left for you -- but darkness." 

Obi-Wan's eyes opened as the word hung about his ears. Darkness. His vision clouded and his bloodshot eyes focused on nothing in particular as he murmured the word again as an echo. "Darkness." 

"Come padawan. Come to the Dark Side. You won't be alone. I'll be there waiting." The image faded back into the shadows of green and black, a slight breeze stirring the padawan braid that hung loosely across his shoulder. With a blank look on his face that matched the void within his soul, Obi-Wan reached to his utility belt and withdrew a knife. 

And cut off his braid.

Jedi Master Mace Windu did not miss the grimace of pain that appeared on Master Yoda's face as they made their way through the palace. "What is it?"

"Darkness. Terrible darkness."

"Here?" Mace had felt nothing other than the ripples in the Force, which he had assumed was the result of Qui-Gon's death. 

"Young Obi-Wan, in great danger he is." 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three 

"Thank you Dormé. That will be all."

The young handmaiden left Senator Amidala alone in her apartment bedroom to finish unpacking. Just a few small bags left, and she would be completely settled.

In two days she would begin her term as the youngest senator ever elected to the Republic.

She wondered at her lack of feeling for the position, as she had discovered she wasn't nervous at all. Although still considered quite young for such an appointment, the pain of her past had matured her beyond her years.

Pain.

She knew it quite well.

Her small hand reached into the final bag and withdrew a small velvet box. Lifting the lid, she reached inside and removed a long braid, coppery brown in color, adorned with colorful beads along its length.

Obi-Wan's padawan braid.

It was all she had left of him. After he had failed to show up for his own Master's funeral ceremony on Naboo, Padmé had sent her own security, accompanied by Masters Yoda and Windu in search of him. All they had found was his braid, lying deserted amongst the thorny vines in the heavily wooded area outside of Theed.

He had literally vanished. Not even Master Yoda could locate his Force signature. It was as if he no longer existed.

That was six months ago.

Clutching the silky braid to her chest, Padmé was surprised to feel the warmth of a lone tear coursing down her cheek. She had believed that she had cried so many tears in the past few months, that there couldn't possibly be any left.

Voices coming from the living area beyond her bedroom brought her back to her present reality and she hastily replaced the braid in its velvet container and moved to receive her guest. Approaching the room, she could easily make out Dormé's voice as well as the unmistakable one of Master Yoda.

"Senator Amidala. Congratulations in order they are."

"Thank you Master Yoda." Padmé sat across from the Jedi and attempted to hide her surprised and concerned look.

Yoda didn't miss it.

"A great disturbance in the Force I have felt."

The question was written on her face. Why had Yoda come to tell her this? She was about to speak the words, when he continued.

"Obi-Wan. Gone to the Dark Side he has. A Sith Lord he is."

And now when she felt she should be crying, the tears would not come. It was not sadness she felt, but anger. With no one in particular to direct it at.

Was she angry with herself? Angry with Obi-Wan? Angry with the Jedi Council?

No. She was angry with the Sith responsible for taking Obi-Wan away from her. Whoever it was.

Yoda gave her time for the words to sink in. The emotions he felt radiating from the young woman sitting across from him surprised him. He could feel her anger. It was very strong, but soon receded to give way to what he would describe as determination, until finally transforming into disappointment and ultimately despair.

Obi-Wan had told her the stories of Xanatos - Master Qui-Gon's first apprentice who had fallen to the Dark Side.

Once a Jedi turns to the Dark, forever will it dominate their destiny. Those were Yoda's words Obi-Wan had told her once.

She mentally braced herself in preparation to hear those words from the Master himself, forever damning Obi-Wan to the Dark.

But the next words Yoda spoke stunned her beyond rational thought.

"Go to him you must. Save him you can. Only your love can bring him back from the Dark."

"What?" The message seemed to pain the diminutive Master and suddenly, to Padmé he seemed very tired and very old. "I thought...Obi-Wan said that Jedi are forbidden to form attachments. They are forbidden to fall in love. It's against the Jedi Code."

The small green Jedi took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "Wrong we were. The Force. Brought you together, it did. Deny it, you cannot. To Mustafar you must go. Obi-Wan is there. Save him, you can."

Mustafar? She knew little of the planet. It was on the outer rim, beyond the Republic borders. But if this was truly where Obi-Wan was, she didn't care if she had to travel to the seventh level of the Sith Hells. She had to help him if she could. But when would she leave? How would she get there? Did her expect her to go alone?

Once again, Yoda nodded his head as if he knew her questions before she had even asked them.

"Master Windu, travel with you he will. Leave tomorrow. All is taken care of."

Master Windu? Incredible. He was the Council's most strict advocate of the Code. Obi-Wan had looked up to the man, but had also told her stories of Mace and Qui-Gon's frequent disagreements in their interpretations of the Code.

Windu's was literal, Jinn's had been much less so.

Their different viewpoints had elevated Mace to the Council and labeled Qui-Gon a rebel. Obi-Wan had stood somewhere in between.

But if Mace had agreed to accompany her, perhaps there was a chance that Yoda's words were true. Maybe love could save Obi-Wan. With the Council's permission, she had to try.

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Mace Windu paced the tiled conference room floor in the upper tower of the Jedi Temple, his hands clenching and releasing in frustration. Yoda watched him from a relaxed and seated posture across the room.

Mace finally stopped and turned to the senior council member. "You are sending her to him? And you told her I would go as well?"

One quick nod from Yoda was his only reply.

Mace's head however shook several times. "Attachment is forbidden. There is no passion..."

"No!" Yoda's gimerstick striking aggressively against the gold tiles stopped Mace from speaking further. "Wrong we were. For eight-hundred years have I taught the Code. The Force has shown me, not too old am I to learn. Wrong we were." His voice softened dramatically. "Love is all that can save Kenobi now. Return him from the Dark it shall. Trust in the Force Master Windu."

Biting the inside of his jaw, sending his confusion and frustration into the Force, Mace decided he had no choice but to honor the ancient Jedi's wishes. As always, he would trust his judgment.

Mace nodded slightly and turned to leave the room to prepare for his journey to Mustafar, but first he would pay a visit to the young Senator.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four 

"Come in Master Windu."

Mace's eyebrow raiseddue tothe apparent lack of surprise for his visit. It was almost as if the young senator had been expecting him.

"Please have a seat." Padmé motioned to a comfortable sofa in the sitting area, but Mace didn't budge from the doorway.

"No thank you. I'm not planning on staying that long."

The word 'Good" formed in her mind, but she didn't dare speak it. If she and this Master Jedi were to be traveling together, she would have to be civil, no matter how little she trusted him.

"I do not agree with Master Yoda on this. Jedi who have gone to the Dark Side cannot be turned."

She had to admit one thing about him. He got the point quickly, but his quick and stubborn assumptions annoyed her greatly.

"Master Yoda claims that our love will save him."

A slight hmph from the powerful Jedi sparked a fire deep within Padmé and she stood a little bit taller and looked him squarely in the eye.

"I love him Master Windu. I will bring him back."

He nodded, but Padmé could read the skepticism on his face. "And if you fail?"

"I won't." She raised her chin even higher.

"If you do, you must allow me to do my duty."

Padmé thought his words over.

As she slowly realized his meaning, her eyes widened and her body slumped slightly.

"You mean to kill him, don't you?"

"I will do as the Force leads me to Senator."

"I won't let you."

A rare smirk crossed the Jedi's face and it angered Padmé, her shoulders once more straightening.

He turned to leave, but was halted by her grasp upon his robe.

"Promise me you won't hurt him until I have a chance to talk to him."

She waited for him to respond.

"Promise me!"

He didn't turn to face her again, but his words sent shudders to her very soul.

"When you see him, you won't know him. The Dark Side has twisted him. He is dangerous and evil. The Obi-Wan you knew and loved no longer exists. You should be prepared for the worst."

"You're wrong Master Windu." She did not hesitate in her reply.

Windu stood silently with his back turned to her, and then with a single nod, Padmé watched the dark brown cloak flap behind him as he exited her apartment.

They both loaded onto their ship the next morning with Mace in the pilot's chair and Padmé joining him at the co-pilot's. It had been a while since had been off Coruscant, but the re-emergence of the Sith and the catastrophe of one of their own Jedi being taken by the Dark was enough to lure him from the Temple.

Yoda had been right in sending him on this mission. It was of vital importance.

Yoda could not have come himself. He was too emotionally attached when it came to the boy. He had been Qui-Gon's student after all and everyone knew how Yoda had felt about Qui-Gon. No. Yoda was too close. Mace was the only one who could judge this situation with clarity and honesty and do what he had to if the time came for it.

Setting the nav control computer for Mustafar, he glanced over to Padmé who sat silently.

Thank the Force. He wasn't sure he could put up with her idealistic and emotional opinions right now.

She had said she loved him. Could love possibly save Kenobi? He had his doubts, but it was worth a try. He would let her try, but if she failed, he had no choice to destroy what Obi-Wan had become. A Sith. It was the Jedi's duty to destroy the Sith. They fought to destroy the very peace of the galaxy.

He could feel that peace being threatened even now. The Force was drawing him closer and closer to the dark pit where Obi-Wan had been hiding with his Sith Master. Mustafar. It was a volcanic planet with strong dark force power. Kenobi had obviously been taken there to train after his disappearance. He was becoming powerful with the Dark Side. Windu could feel it as they drew nearer and nearer to the fiery planet.

Mace set and engaged the hyperdrive and then sent his mind through the Force across the galaxy, navigating his way to the dark forces surrounding Mustafar. He gritted his teeth as he was mentally slammed by a tidal wave of hatred, anger, fear, rejection, loneliness, and pain. Screams of anguish seared through his mind and he pulled back quickly.

A steely grip reached out as if to choke him and within himself he could hear his name being called and a threat of death along with it.

Kenobi knew they were coming.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five 

Tips of black leather boots stood precariously near the edge of a walkway overlooking a river bubbling and sputtering lava.

A bare hand reaches out over the molten river just as a bubble explodes, sending a firey spew upward, hitting and singing the bare skin it touches.

Obi-Wan sighs. He will use the pain to draw upon the Dark power surrounding him. He will need its assistance now. Mace Windu is coming.

Firey eyes filled with hatred glance up and over the red river, up into the stars in the red hazy Mustafar atmosphere to spy the approaching ship.

He did not flinch as a whithered and ghostly white hand firmly gripped his shoulder from behind and a raspy voice spat out.

"Kill the Jedi. Bring the woman to me. Don't fail me, my young apprentice."

A feral grin crosses the younger man's face. "Yes, my master."

The starship's ramp hissed as it lowered and within a few moments, the figure of Padmé Amidala appeared and moved down the exit and across the durasteel platform.

Her eyes never wavered. Her steps never faltered.

She was looking at and walking toward the piercing blue-green gaze of the young man dressed in black who stood on the opposite side of the platform, waiting for her.

Mace was wrong. She rejoiced in that fact for the few seconds it took to reach him.

In those few seconds, all she could think about was that Obi-Wan was alive and he still looked like the man she knew and loved.

She hesitated only when she stood just mere inches from him, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Padmé."

That simple word eased all of her previous suffering and she moved her hand up to trace a new scar that ran along his left cheek. Her fingers moved gently to run through his slightly longer locks of hair. Love and hope radiated from her. This was going to work. Mace had been wrong.

"Obi-Wan." She sighed through a slight smile.

But the blue gaze suddenly faltered and his eyes shot over her head, her wrist suddenly and savagely gripped.

Padmé twisted in fear, expecting to see Master Windu, but he had not yet exited the ship. Something or someone unseen was speaking to Obi-Wan and he was vehemently arguing with it.

"Obi-Wan."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Obi-Wan! You're hurting me!" The grip upon her wrist was almost unbearable.

"You're not my Master any more!"

"Obi-Wan! Let go of me!"

Just before the hand crushing her arm flung her to the ground, Padmé gasped as the blue of Obi-Wan's eyes transformed into a hidious yellow and red. The pain and anger coming from him was almost palpable.

Before she could react, Obi-Wan had ignited his red lightsaber, the hum echoing and matching the one she heard directly behind her and it was then that Padmé realized she had failed. Mace had exited the ship and lightsaber in hand, was approaching to challenge him.

Padmé scooted backward across the platform out of the way and watched in horror as the two warriors met in a fierce battle. Obi-Wan was aggressive and fiercely struck out against the Jedi. To Padmé's surprise, Mace appeared to be assuming a defensive posture and was simply reflecting the blows that were coming at him with lightning speed.

Mace was stunned. The power emanating from this young man was beyond anything he had encountered before. The Dark Force was strong with him. It had consumed him.

Blocking several rapid successive blows, Mace felt sympathy and remorse stab through him. It was such a shame. Obi-Wan Kenobi had shown great promise and would have been a fine Knight. It was too bad that he would have be destroyed.

Calling upon the Force for guidance, Mace struggled with concentrated effort on the fight as well as a rapidly appearing vision of the young man on the Temple steps, hand in hand with the young senator, smiles lighting both of their faces.

Was that the future or just the possibility of it?

Obi-Wan had flipped over his head and Mace blocked the next few blows with renewed effort. He had never been one to successfully read the future. That was Master Yoda's talent, not his. He was unsure of what the brief vision had meant.

But he understood one thing. If he could not diffuse this fight, Kenobi would have to be destroyed. He was too strong. Too dangerous. He was a threat to the Jedi and the Republic.

Kenobi's powerful thrusts had backed him to the edge of the platform. He could feel the heat of the lava beneath and behind him. Time to end this fight now.

Calling upon his Vaapad lightsaber skills, he began executing a series of attacks that would soon have Kenobi disarmed or dead.

Padmé noticed the sudden change of momentum in the fight. Windu was now the aggressor, and she began shaking her head in horror at the realization of what Mace Windu was going to do. Obi-Wan would not be alive for long.

A quick jab with a purple sword sent the young man spinning, a hissing fury escaping him as he spun back around to attack once more.

Padmé could see it before it happened. The blow that would end the fight and end the life of the man she loved. She couldn't bear to watch it. She opened her mouth to scream and a piercing and long shrill "No!" issued forth.

At that point, Kenobi seemed stunned. Not by a blow, but by her scream. He dropped his lightsaber to the ground and turned to look at Padmé who was kneeling on the platform. She quickly noticed his eyes were no longer the sickly yellow, but were blue-green once more.

He looked like he was about to say something, but then Mace Windu knocked him out with a blow from the hilt of his saber to the back of his head. Obi-Wan hit the platform with a thud and Padmé glanced up to cast Mace a grateful look.

He had listened to the Force. He had done what he needed to do. The situation was contained, but they were still in great danger.

Mace quickly leaned down and picked up the unconscious body of Obi-Wan Kenobi and motioned to Padmé with his head to follow him to the ship.

"We must leave quickly. His Master is on the planet. He's not happy." Mace looked off into the distant lava laced craters. "And he's coming."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six 

Mace lifted the body of Obi-Wan over his shoulder and strode toward the ship. Padmé followed close behind. She started suddenly as a blue electrical bolt ricocheted off of the platform next to her feet.

"What was that?" She asked Mace who had spun to peer into the distance. His eyes widened in realization that the Sith Master was approaching. Re-igniting his lightsaber, he deflected another bolt of Dark Force lightning, while still holding onto Kenobi.

"Get on board now!" He yelled to Padmé and for once, she didn't hesitate to do as he requested. He would have loved to stay and fight the Master and try to discover his identity, but the Force was compelling him to board the ship. He could not endanger the senator any more than he already had.

He backed onto the ramp and into the ship, deflecting and absorbing two more blue bolts, his eyes focusing, glaring, attempting to possibly recognize the distant slightly hunched figure shrouded in black.

Padmé had rushed to the ship's console and began the takeoff procedures. Upon hearing Mace's yell of clearance, she raised the ramp and powered the ship up and blasted away from Mustafar.

Mace took the still-unconscious Obi-Wan to a room and laid him down upon a plain cot. Exiting the room, he accessed a control panel and activated a force field containment shield at the door's exit, hoping it would hold Kenobi if herevived before they reached Coruscant.

Once leaving the atmosphere of the blazing red planet, Mace engaged the hyperdrive. The boom of the lightspeed engines' ignition and the roar that followed were not enough to dampen the screamed obscenities that now echoed throughout the ship.

Kenobi was awake.

Padmé shuddered at the ferocity of the violent words directed at Windu, the Jedi council and ultimately the entire Jedi Order.

So much anger. So much pain. She soon found herself weeping for him.

Mace glanced at her with a somewhat sympathetic look.

The force containment room he had locked Kenobi in was just a temporary fix to a much bigger problem. What would they do with him once they reached Coruscant? Did Yoda or the Jedi Healers seriously think that they could help him?

From their experience on the Mustafar landing platform, it was obvious that Kenobi was beyond their help.

Taking a deep breath, the Force shimmered through his distraught mind. It was the voice of Yoda that he heard. 'Love is all that can save Kenobi.'

He heard the young senator sniffle softly and her voice cracked as she spoke to him. "You have to let me speak to him."

"I cannot."

"Master Windu." She implored.

Mace shook his head and looked out the viewport at the blur of stars moving at lightspeed. "Look. We already tried it your way. It didn't work."

She was silent for several minutes before she spoke again.

"Master Windu, have you ever been in love?"

He didn't expect that type of question and he wasn't sure he should answer it.

"Have you?"

So, she was going to be insistent. The young woman was stubborn, and if he didn't talk to her, it was a going to be a long trip.

"As a matter of fact, I have."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she turned slightly to give him her full attention.

"When I was a young. She was also a Jedi. Her name was Lurea. Lurea Krell. She was actually a friend of Qui-Gon's. He introduced us."

Mace sat silent for a moment, his eyes focused somewhere above and beyond Padmé's head, a small smile crossing his face, apparently lost in memory.

"She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen."

His gaze turned once more out the window and Padmé waited patiently.

"We were great friends. But after our knighting ceremony, something changed. She came to me in my room that night. I suppose she assumed that what we had would grow to something else. Something more. I never meant to hurt her, but I had made an oath. I was going to be a great Jedi, a powerful warrior. Someday I was going to be on the Council."

His voice had faded to where Padmé could barely hear him over the raucous noise coming from the back of the ship. She waited a long moment before quietly urging him to continue.

"What happened to her?"

He turned then to look at her and just for a flash of a moment, Padmé could see the pain of regret on his face.

"She volunteered for an extremely dangerous mission. She put herself in harm's way. She didn't survive."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's in the past."

Windu sat facing her, his hands steepled beneath his chin.

Once more Padmé decided to try her luck.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. You should understand now why I have to go to him."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to risk your life again."

"Master Windu. Obi-Wan_ **is**_ my life."

Mace's brow furrowed at her statement and Padmé grasped against hope that her words had somehow changed his mind.

"All right. But I'll remain close by. If there is any danger, I'll have no choice but to intervene."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Seven 

Mace followed Padmé down the narrow hallway leading to the durasteel door that separated Kenobi from them. Without hesitation, Padmé placed her palm upon the opening mechanism, but Mace stopped her from activating it with his own much larger hand.

"One word and I'll be there in an instant."

"I'm not afraid."

Mace grinned slightly and nodded, amazed at her strength. "May the Force be with you." He then withdrew his hand.

Padmé opened the door and waited for Mace to de-activate the force field. She moved inside the room and immediately heard the hum of the containment field re-activated behind her.

She glanced across the room. Its single piece of furniture, the cot, had been destroyed -- pieces of it scattered all over the floor. Something caught her eye to the right, and she turned to see Obi-Wan lifting a metal leg from the cot above his head. The horror of the color of his eyes and the fact that he was about to attack her stunned her. But she did not move. She was not afraid. She would not scream, or else Mace would enter the room and ruin any chance she had.

Obi-Wan hesitated and Padmé noticed beads of sweat quickly appearing on his forehead, and his face grimace in pain, obviously from the inner turmoil he was battling.

The eyes that were nearly glowing with an eerie golden hue were now transforming into their familiar blue and green - right before her very eyes. It was amazing and horrible to watch.

The bar he had been holding dropped with a clang when it hit the floor and soon, Obi-Wan did the same, dropping to his knees, a gasp exploding from his lungs.

"Padmé...I can't."

She was immediately in his arms, supporting him, comforting him with rocking movements and soothing caresses along his back and hair.

"Shhhh. I'm here. I love you. Please let me help you."

The weight of his body in her arms suddenly increased and he completely stilled. He had passed out.

She moved slightly to position his head onto her lap and urged his legs to a more comfortable position.

How could she help him? All she had to give him was her love. She just hoped it would be enough to save him.

She gazed down at his face. There were new marks there that she did not know. Two small scars on his chin and the long scar that she had traced with her finger on Mustafar. She traced it once more. The dark circles under his eyes she lovingly soothed with her thumb. His hair was slightly longer but still the rich coppery color she loved. She smoothed the fallen tresses away from his eyes just as they began to flutter open.

Trembling with emotion, Padmé bent to offer him the gift of her kiss. Her heart leapt with joy as he met her and accepted it greedily.

His hand moved to cup the back of her head and gently pull her closer to deepen the kiss. Padmé was lost to the sensation, the heartbreak momentarily forgotten, along with the months of loneliness and despair as strong arms reached up and embraced her, pulling her down and to his side. A muscular body pressing her to the floor.

He murmured her name between kisses, his lips searing her skin every place they touched.

Suddenly, his movements halted, and his head fell heavily to her chest. She felt his torso heave in a deep draw of breath that was soon released in shuddering gasps. He was sobbing now, uncontrollably and she held him tightly.

His shuddering eventually ceased but his head was still buried against her chest. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her arm as he spoke.

"I don't remember what happened. I ran from the palace. I ran into the woods. There was someone waiting there for me. I don't remember who it was. I don't remember anything. What happened to me?"

"It's going to be all right Obi-Wan. It's going to be all right."

She didn't know what else to say. Informing him of the truth may send him over the edge. She couldn't risk that. All she could do was love him. And she loved him...so much.

Her arms tightened about him.

He returned the embrace desperately, forcefully and Padmé urged his face up to look at her. She had to see his eyes. They opened to indeed reveal the beautiful blue and green that she so loved, but she shuddered at the passion they revealed.

His mouth sought hers out once more, stronger than before, demanding, seeking, his hands moving confidently, removing the layers of clothing that separated them.

As their bodies joined for the first time, Padmé bit her lip to stifle the scream that threatened to burst forth. She did not want to unnecessarily alert the Jedi Master who stood vigil just outside the door.

Mace Windu paced the narrow hallway, his senses heightened, listening for any sound of struggle, any sign of protest, any attempt at all to call for his help. There had been none. It was quiet. Very quiet. It made him nervous.

He finally slumped down against the wall, his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He waited. He wasn't prepared when he heard it, but in an instant he was on his feet, his hand slamming against the door control and his other on his lightsaber. The senator had screamed out his name.

She was sitting on the floor, her clothing held tightly to her chest. Her backside was bare. But that was not what caught his attention.

Huddled in the corner of the room sat Kenobi, looking very much like a caged and abused animal. His eyes were wild with fear, he was shaking uncontrollably, though not from his lack of clothing, but from something happening that Mace could not see.

At least not with his eyes.

There was a presence in the room. A powerful Dark presence. The Master had come for his apprentice.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eight 

"What is happening to him?"

Obi-Wan was now in a fetal position in the corner of the room, his body writhing and twitching, his face contorted in pain.

Padméwatched in horror as a gash suddenly appeared across Obi-Wan's chest, bright red blood oozing from the open wound. And then a rapidlydarkening bruise appeared under his left eye.

Mace disengaged his lightsaber, clipped it back to his belt and immediately assumed a meditative posture. This battle could not be fought with the power of his lightsaber skills, but only with the power of the Force. Glancing at Padmé, he decided he was going to need all the help he could get.

He held his hand out to her, and she hesitated briefly before accepting it.

Padmé gasped quietly as she could feel her mind being gently intruded upon. The very powerful and strong presence of Mace Windu was somehow within her, pulling her mental self outside of her body. It was not painful or uncomfortable, but very surreal.

Mace had wondered before about the senator's sense of the Force. He had had his suspicions that she held some power, although very little. No matter. What little she had, he needed to borrow. He just hoped that the strength she possessed outside of the Force was enough to endure the battle they were about to fight.

Padmé glanced at Mace, whose eyes were closed tightly, his brows furrowed, his facial muscles straining. She did not know how to help him other than opening her mind to what he needed and concentrating on her love for the man who writhed in pain in the corner of the room.

The shuddering jar that rippled through the Jedi reflected in her own mind and she was started as she began to see the obstacle that lay before them. It frightened her.

Layers of inky black shadows, suffocating and strangling Obi-Wan. Long black menacing claws reaching out and striking him, causing the wounds that were a physical manifestation of their power.

Mace was using the Force as a torch to burn their way through them. Some of the shadows were mere wisps that dissipated with touch, but others, especially the claw-like hands were thick and resistant.

Padmé watched Windu's face as they met that resistance. Beads of sweat popped out along his brow, his face grimaced in concentration. The breath that he had been holding came out in gasps. Padmé began to worry that he was about to give up when a sudden bright shaft of light pierced through the darkness, illuminating the shadows and strengthening their own weakening power. She wasn't sure how she knew, but somehow she did. Master Yoda had just joined them.

Through their combined efforts, the shadows began to dissipate more rapidly, stripping the blackness away from the bright soul that lay smothered beneath.

Padmé gasped as the room was abruptly illuminated with a blue glow. She could just make out the ghostly figure of Qui-Gon Jinn standing next to Obi-Wan.

"It's Master Qui-Gon." She gasped aloud in shock.

Mace opened his weary eyes. "No it isn't, but Obi-Wan is meant to think it is."

Obi-Wan was now screaming while writhing on the floor, spewing out obscenities aimed at his former Master, every muscle in his body tense, veins straining along his neck and face, his body now displaying several oozing wounds.

Mace could feel Obi-Wan fighting for control, fighting for his very life while pushing away the dark abyss threatening to consume his anguished and tortured mind.

The ghostly figure contorted with the combined Force effort intent on banishing it, and it quickly turned against Mace.

The image of Qui-Gon dissolved and revealed a creased and whithered white face of an elderly man he did not recognize, yellow eyes set deep in its ugly face. At last, the Master was revealed.

The feral grin contorted into a hideous snarl at the bombarbment of light before turning to focus its evil intentions on the weakest power in the room.

Padmé seized as the Dark Force slammed into her mind. The pain was unbearable and she screamed out in terror and collapsed face first onto the floor.

Another scream echoed from across the room -- this one coming from Kenobi.

"Noooo!"

Mace was quickly joined in meditation by Obi-Wan. Although quite weak, his Force powers were stronger than Padmé's, and along with Yoda, the three of them cast the snarling and hissing apparition of the Sith Master from the room. It exploded in a burst of shadow, a shrill scream reverberating against the walls of the chamber.

Other than the hum of the engines, the ship was now eerily quiet.

Mace rolled Padmé over and placed a thumb and forefinger to her temples, checking for for any sign of mental damage. He heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is she...?" Obi-Wan had crawled over to her side, his voice quite hoarse.

"She lives. And how are you Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Mace turned to the nude and bleeding young man.

Obi-Wan's face grew pensive, searching inward for something that was apparently no longer there. "Fine." Was his simple reply.

Mace raised one eyebrow. He still had his doubts, but to his surprise, he could no longer feel the dark power that had previously inhabited him.

However, Kenobi's Force signature was changed. No longer the white light it had once been, it was now various shades of gray.

Mace slowly picked himself up from the floor, shocked at his state of mental and physical exhaustion.

Before leaving the room, he reached down and draped his own dark brown Jedi cloak around the naked form of Obi-Wan, who had not moved from Padmé's unconscious side.

He stopped at the door and lifted his hand to activate the force field, but before reaching it, changed his mind and dropped his hand back down to his side.

"We will be arriving in Coruscant in four hours. You will be confined to quarters."

"Yes Master." Came the hoarse but cultured reply.

One step forward and he once more stopped and without turning around quietly said, "It is good to have you back Obi-Wan."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine 

"I must confess I had my doubts." Mace Windu stood in the Jedi Temple Conference Room facing one of the many large windows overlooking the Coruscant skyline, watching as the steady flow of traffic coursed by. Arms crossed with hands hidden inside the sleeves of his robe, he had his back turned to the sitting Master Yoda. "Is he fully recovered?"

"Still in the Healers chambers, Kenobi is. Fully recovered he will be, if not yet mentally."

Mace still did not turn. The information did not surprise him. "Yes. I detected the change in his Force signature on board. Will his mind recover as well?"

"Difficult to see. The Dark Side, clouded everything it has."

"Clouded Obi-Wan's future, you mean." At that statement, Mace turned to carefully watch the face of the Jedi Master. His expression had not changed except for a slight twinkle in his large eyes. The ancient Jedi had information that he was going to share, and Mace discovered that he was almost dreading hearing it.

"The boy is tainted with the Dark. He no longer serves the Light Master Yoda."

A frown creased the green face, but the twinkle still remained. "Indeed, struggled with the Dark he has. Survived, he also has. Done what no other Jedi has done before. Passed his trials, wouldn't you say?"

Windu's eyebrows immediately shot up and gradually creased downward again into a frown. Was Yoda actually declaring Obi-Wan Kenobi a Jedi Knight? "You would bestow upon him the honor of Knight after what's happened? The boy was a Sith!"

Yoda's claw-like grip tightened around his gimerstick. "Fought with the Dark, the young man did. Prevailed, he also did. A Knight, he now is."

There was no more argument to be made. Mace recognized the determined look on Yoda's face as well as the tone of his voice. This was incredible! How could the boy be trusted? The sparkle once again returned to Yoda's eyes and Mace realized that the news he had already heard was not the news Yoda had been hiding. He had the sudden strong feeling that he should sit down, and so he did.

"Always changing, the future is. Kenobi's struggle with the Dark, I did not see. But know for certain, one thing I do. A balance he has made. The Chosen One he is."

Mace was utterly speechless. Kenobi fulfilled the prophecy? How could that be? How could he not have known? Had Qui-Gon known?

After blinking several times, his speech finally returned. "How long have you known this?"

"All along. Forseen it I did when Obi-Wan was a boy. Told Qui-Gon I did. Explains his hesistancy in training the boy, does it not? Felt unworthy, he did. Made mistakes, almost alienated the boy. Hurt him, he did."

Pieces of the puzzle that was Qui-Gon Jinn began to fit into place. Mace had often criticized his friend's treatment of his young padawan. He had warned Qui-Gon that he was too distant, too demanding, too difficult to please.

So, Qui-Gon had been the Master of the Chosen One, and he had known it all along. It must have been a difficult burden for his friend. Mace felt a pang of regret in not knowing. Maybe he could have helped him. But Yoda must have had his reasons for keeping the information to himself.

"Does Kenobi know?"

"No. Waiting, is he."

"Waiting? Waiting for what?"

"Uncertain, am I. When he finds it, he will know. Only ready then, will he be."

----------------------------------

Mace wandered a bit aimlessly down the hallways leading toward the Healer's wing of the Temple. He wasn't sure why he was going to see Kenobi. He just had the feeling he should. He wasn't even sure what he would say to the young man, other than informing him that he had passed his trials and was now considered a Knight. The news usually brought an anticipated joyous reaction in most padawans, but on this occasion, Mace did not expect joy. In fact, he wasn't sure what to expect.

His time for assumptions had ended as he found himself standing in a large rehab room. The various training centers stood empty and Mace had to turn his head to finally catch a glimpse of Obi-wan. He saw him standing on the far side of the room, staring out the window. He approached him somewhat cautiously.

"Hello Master Windu."

The boy hadn't even turned around.

"Hello Knight."

He turned around then, but only slightly, his eyebrows raised in question.

"You've passed your trials. Master Yoda has declared you a Knight." Mace had placed a hand upon Obi-Wan's shoulder as he watched his face closely.

At least he had been right about one thing. The news hadn't even brought a smile to the young man's face. He dropped his hand as Kenobi turned back toward the window.

"How do you feel?"

Obi-Wan remained quiet for a moment. "Strange. I'm the same as before, but I'm also different. The healers told me what happened." His head bowed and then coming back up, he turned to face the taller Jedi. "Thank you for coming to rescue me."

He wanted to say that it was his duty, but somehow that seemed brusque, so he simply nodded instead.

His wordless acceptance affected the young man in a way he had not expected, as he noticed a broad smile beginning to form across the stern features. Mace's eyes followed Obi-wan as he excused himself and rushed across the large room and was soon in the arms of Senator Amidala.

The immediate surge of power within the room was almost visible. Kenobi's Force aura suddenly glowed. It was still in shades of gray, but the mere presence of his young lover had caused an intense modification in the Force that had rippled throughout the room, and Mace had not doubt that the ripples would be felt throughout the entire city.

The ripples indeed had been felt in the Senate. The Dark Sith Lord also known as Chancellor Palpatine had felt them and had immediately risen from his high-back executive chair, and found himself pacing agitatedly in front of the large window in his office.

Kenobi! His powers were growing. Powers that should belong the Dark! Not the Light!

Kenobi must be destroyed. He was becoming too dangerous. He had forseen it. The boy would bring an end to the Sith once and for all. He must be destroyed!

Palpatine's steps stopped suddenly as an evil plan began to form in his twisted and Dark mind. It would be difficult to abduct the boy now. And time was running out. Soon, Kenobi would be unstoppable. He must act quickly, and the quickest and easiest way to destroy Kenobi was to destroy those he loved. Specifically, the only one he truly loved. He must kill Senator Amidala, and soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Ten 

Gasping. Stinging. A bitter taste in his mouth.

Shadows. A blurred blue image. Horrible pain.

Invisible lashes bringing forth rich red blood. A scream tearing through a parched throat. And then whispers in a familiar voice.

A voice he once knew. A voice he once trusted.

"Give in to your hate." Hot breath on his overheated and sweating skin.

"I didn't want you. I was forced to train you." Another sharp pain, this one across his chest.

"They don't want you. They aren't even looking for you."

"It's too late. You're infected with the dark. It's too late."

A red lightsaber slashes through the neck of a screaming person. Male? Female? Adult? Child?

The shadows do not allow him to see. All he knows is that it was a sentient being. And it was unarmed.

Guilt. Remorse. Suffering.

Replaced with anger, hatred, and the overpowering need for revenge.

He will return. He will make them pay. He will make them all pay.

"Obi-Wan! Wake up."

A gentle hand is nudging his bare shoulder. Obi-Wan's eyes fly open, his breath coming out in gasps, the sweat on his brow and chest cooling in the breeze filtering through the window of his assigned room in the Healer's wing.

It was a dream. No,a nightmare. But it was real. Oh Force. It was real.

"You were having a dream. Are you okay?"

His breath and heart beat were slowing down now and he reached up to offer a hand in comfort along Padme's cheek. "I'm okay. I'll be okay." She didn't look very reassured.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." A slight smirk to try and lighten things up before he began. "But I think I'd better.I'm beginning to remember what happened on Mustafar." A long pause. "He tortured me. I'm not sure how long. I remember not eating or having anything to drink for days. And there were beatings."

Padmé traced the deep scar that ran across his chest as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"But that's not the worst of it. I think I killed someone. I don't know who it was. I think it was test. And I think I passed it, because the torture ended after that. Somewhere, I gave up. I gave in. I became a Sith." The word sounded and felt blasphemous on his tongue and Padmé shuddered upon hearing it.

"You didn't give up Obi-Wan. You fought. You won. You did what no other Jedi has ever done. You went to the Dark Side and you came back."

"Did I?"

Padmé was silent as she gazed into the blue-green depths of Obi-Wan's eyes. There was no darkness there. No trace of yellow. All she saw was the Jedi she loved. "Yes. Mace believes in you. Yoda believes in you. I believe in you. I love you." She punctuated her last words with a soft kiss and was soon rolled over and gently pinned beneath a strong muscular body.

"And I love you. Thank you. Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for believing in me." Another kiss and a small smile replaced the previous frown. "But you'll have to excuse me for a moment. I need to use the 'fresher."

"Don't be long." A quick peck followed by a more lingering kiss and a slight growl, and he was up off the bed and moving across the floor. Padmé simply lay back and enjoyed the view.

It was amazing to him -- that love had the power to simply banish the guilt and remorse from his soul. The torture he had suffered, the things he had seen and done, should be tearing him apart. But somehow, all he felt was a great peace.

A calmness radiated through his soul, and he knew its source. It wasn't coming only from the Force, but from Padmé. Her love was the anchor that he needed, or else he would have gone insane. It was so clear now. She was his salvation, the love of his life.

Then what are you waiting for?

His eyes glanced up to the mirror in the 'fresher. A confident Jedi Knight looked back.

Make her yours. Ask her. Don't wait another minute.

A bright smile lit his face as he turned to re-enter the room, with one intention on his mind.

However, the door was shut. He didn't remember shutting it when he came in.

And then he heard her scream.

His hand immediately flew to the scanner to palm open the door, but it didn't budge.

Another scream.

He called upon the Force to pry open the door with a swipe of his hand. It moved only partially. He physically pushed it open the rest of the way and ran into the room.

Padmé lay supine on the bed. In the dim moonlight, he could see a shadowy figure hovering over her, and then to his horror, it lowered onto her body, and then sunk into it.

Her body convulsed and thrashed on the bed.

Obi-Wan was immediately there, prying open her mouth to secure her tongue. Her eyes had rolled back in her head.

He screamed out her name, but there was no reply.

Then she was still and her eyes opened.

Shaking her gently, her repeated her name. Still, there was no reply.

Slamming his hand against the emergency comlink, he threw on his robe and waited for the Healer to arrive.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Eleven 

The sullen face of the Jedi Healer that approached Obi-Wan and Yoda outside of the treatment room told Obi-Wan what he didn't want to know.

The report was not going to be good.

"There is a dark presence consuming her. I cannot penetrate it. Her life force is dwindling. She'll be lost to us within a day. I'm sorry."

The long arm reached low to comfort Obi-Wan who had dropped to his knees on the floor. He did not see Yoda motion the Healer away with a slight nod.

"There has to be something you can do!" Head hidden in his hands, his words were directed at Yoda. Panic was gripping Obi-Wan's mind and heart. Without Padmé, the insanity would take over. He would lose himself again. He needed her. He wouldn't live without her. One way or another.

"It is not I with the power to save her."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan looked straight across meet Yoda's gaze.

"The Chosen One, only the power he has."

Obi-Wan sat silently, staring into the eyes of Master Yoda. Eyes that were conveying a message beyond comprehension. He found himself shaking his head in denial.

"Not possible. I had a father. My midi-chlorian count is too low."

"Files can be altered, can they not? Protect you, we did, or else lose you to the Dark Side before you were ready."

"But..." Obi-Wan stammered, struggling to accept the Master's words and finding it almost impossible to do so. "But why do I feel so helpless? I don't know how tohelp her."

"Not ready are you. Something else you need to do."

Eyes squinting, Obi-Wan waited for Yoda to explain.

"Reconcile your past, you must. Only then, the power you shall have, to save the one you love."

"My past? I don't understand..."

Yoda's eyes then focused above and beyond Obi-Wan's head and as he turned to follow their direction, he could see the slowly focusing spirit of his dead Master -- Qui-Gon Jinn.

Obi-Wan's heart rate increaseddramatically and the adrenaline shot through him. Involuntarily, he scooted backward away from the apparition. The hurt look on Qui-Gon's face was not enough to stop his repulsion.

Yoda stepped in front of him, blocking his view, grasping him firmly by the shoulders. "Knight! This Qui-Gon, the one who haunts your dreams, itis not. The one who tortured you, it is not. This Qui-Gon, his life he gave. Save you, he did. Listen to him, you will or the senator will die."

Those final words stunned Obi-Wan back to reality, away from the torment of his imprisonment on Mustafar, away from the nightmares that plagued him. He closed his eyes and focused on the Force, drawing it to him. It came to him readily, surrounding him, supporting him, calming him. He immediately found his center and re-opened his eyes.

He found himself face to face with the kneeling spiritual form of Qui-Gon Jinn, his former Master and friend.

"Obi-Wan. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to..."

"Listen to me. Please don't interrupt. We don't have much time."

Obi-Wan simply nodded.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you all those years. I kept you at a distance. I thought it was best. I was afraid." He held up a ghostly hand when he thought Obi-Wan would interrupt. "I was afraid I would fail you. You were the Chosen One! I was not worthy."

A small smile appeared on the blue apparition.

"I am so proud of you Obi-Wan. I always have been. I should have told you more often. I loved you. You were the son I would never have. I'm sorry I left you behind on Naboo, but I was protecting you. The Force had shown me that one of us would die at the hands of the Sith that day. I wasn't about to let it be you."

Tears of forgiveness coursed down Obi-Wan's face, washing away all the regret, all the anger and hurt he had felt because of his Master. Years of disappointment and grief soon dissipated along with the apparition before him.

But before Qui-Gon completely disappeared, a ghostly blue hand caressed a younger, scarred face, his whispered words floating away on a mist of blue. "Now go padawan. Save her."

Obi-Wan's eyes closed once more, acceptance, love, and confidence building and flooding his senses, along with a great power filling him, being drawn from several sources, near and far, light and dark. It was unfathomable and he felt suddenly amazingly invincible.

He opened his eyes to see Master Yoda looking at him, understanding and determination in his gaze. "Go. Face him you must. Only by destroying the Master, will you save the senator."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Twelve 

Her skin had a sickening grayish hue, the circles deep and dark under her eyes. Just an hour had passed since she was possessed by the dark and evil invasion and already she was a mere skeleton of the woman that Obi-Wan loved.

Her face was ashen, her cheeks sunken. Her deep dark eyes were open, but bore no sign of expression or emotion. Other than the slow rhythmic beep of the heart monitor attached to her finger, one would assume the young woman was dead, and had been for a while.

Her startling appearance did not deter the two Jedi whowere by her side -- one small one sat in a meditative trance at the foot of her bed, and the other hastily pressed a kiss to the delicate and cold knuckles of her hand.

Before leaving the room, Obi-Wan stopped at the door and turned back to Yoda.

The wise Master's voice gave him the reassurance that he needed. "Stay with her I will. Do all I can."

"Thank you Master Yoda."

"May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan walked as in a trance. Unsure of where his steps were taking him or even who he was looking for, his mind was attuned to the Force completely. It was speaking to him, guiding him, clearer than ever before.

His awareness returned as he found himself standing outside of the large office doors of Chancellor Palpatine, the highest elected official in the Republic.

He questioned the Force, wanting to proceed without error, when his hearing picked up a familiar cackling laugh, confirming that his enemy was just beyond these doors.

With a deep breath, he pushed them open and steped inside.

The man who sat across the desk in a black leather chair was not the Sith Lord he had expected, but the elderly gentle-appearing Senator from Naboo. Only the cackling laugh that echoed throughout the room gave indication that the man before him was pure evil. It was the same laugh he heard in his nightmares.

Obi-Wan reached out to the Force and drew it to him, to prepare him for the battle that was sure to come.

"Kenobi. How nice to see you. Still a Jedi I see, and a Knight now I hear. How convenient." The voice hissed at him.

"Release her." He added just a bit of the Force to his demand.

He received a low chuckle in reply. "I don't think so young Knight. And when I am finished with her, it is **_you_ **who will come to me."

Palpatine had risen from his chair and was slowly walking around the desk, moving toward him.

"You see Obi-Wan, you belong to the Dark Side now. You have felt its power. You cannot resist it."

"You're wrong, Chancellor." Obi-Wan still stood in the doorway, his hand upon the hilt of his lightsaber.

"It is you who are wrong Knight, about a great many things."

Obi-Wan watched with slight apprehension as Palpatine stopped in the center of the room and within seconds was transformed into the hideous and wrinkled form of Darth Sidious, Master of the Sith.

"Do you think a mere Jedi Knight can destroy me? And do you actually believe that if you did, it would save her?" Another evil cackle issued forth from the withered face. "It's too late, Jedi. She's already dead."

Obi-Wan immediately reached out through the Force. He knew that Sidious was taunting him, but he had to make sure. He stumbled backward into the doorjamb as great sorrow and regret slammed into his mind, the incessant beep of the heart monitor indicating that Sidious was telling the truth. He was too late. Padmé was dead.

The moment it took to gain this information had left him distracted enough for Sidious to take advantage. He came flying across the room toward Obi-Wan, red lightsaber blazing. Obi-Wan had just enough time to withdraw his own saber before it was knocked completely from his hand. He looked on in frustrated horror as Sidious called his lightsaber to the wrinkled grasp and with little effort, snapped it into.

"The Chosen One." Sidious added to his sarcasm with a laugh. "You fool. You are no match for the Dark Side."

_Padmé...I'm sorry. I failed you, and I failed you Master. Forgive me. I'll be seeing you both soon._

The apology was quickly sent into the Force, but to his confusion and disappointment, the message was not accepted.

Padmé was dead, the Force was not recognizing his plea. He was truly alone. Chosen One or not, he knew he was going to die.

A blue bolt of Force lightning struck him once. He expected pain, but there was none.

Another bolt accompanied by evil laughter. Still no pain. His body seemed to be absorbing the energy. He could feel it flowing through him, so much so that it flowed in excess and he sent it out in waves, directing it straight toward the Jedi Temple.

Padmé's skin immediately flushed pink, a gasp was torn from her lips. The heart monitor beeped rapidly and then steady once more. A whisper of his name barely heard in the room by Yoda was heard loudly and clearly in the Chancellor's Office.

Padmé was alive. It was all he needed.

The next bolt of lightning was met by his outstretched hand. The Dark Force power did not ricochet nor was it reflected. It was, in fact being absorbed.

A concentrated and tremendous effort by Sidious sent an enormous amount of energy surging toward Obi-Wan.

Both hands raised, he simply accepted it, drew it into himself and became empowered by it.

Taking a deep breath, relishing in the enormous amount of power flowing through him and the equally enormous amount of peace he felt, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and saw what no one else had ever seen before. A look of absolute fear on Darth Sidious' face.

With a shrill scream, the red lightsaber was once more ignited and swinging at his head. Obi-Wan saw it moving toward him at half speed. He easily blocked the blow by grabbing the dark lord's arm and prying the weapon from his grasp.

One look from Obi-Wan and the lightsaber shattered into a thousand pieces.

Sidious stumbled back, a look of dread and horror on his face. He grimaced suddenly and his white withered hands clutched his chest.

Obi-Wan stood in the doorway, one hand held up, palm out, literally pulling the dark power from inside Darth Sidious and into himself.

The withered face crumpled, collapsed, and the body that was once Supreme Chancellor Palpatine imploded with a burst of Dark Force blue flame that shot out and at once was magnetized toward the Chosen One who claimed it and transformed it into a shimmer of silvery gray --the balance between the Dark and the Light.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: clouseau -- are you psychic? 

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Chapter Thirteen

A hush fell over the crowd assembled in front of the Jedi Temple. Mace Windu glanced downward and sideways to Master Yoda and then turned his head to take in the other Council members, Jedi, padawans, and senators who had arrived to send off the newly married couple soon to depart for their honeymoon on Naboo.

The interior doors opened and the crowd roared. Confetti sprinkled down from surrounding buildings and windows and a rare and broad grin spread over the tall Jedi Master's face.

Seeing his previous vision materialize before his eyes, Mace looked up toward the top of the steps where Obi-Wan, dressed in tunics of dark gray, grasped the hand of his bride, Senator Amidala, who wore a traditional Nubian wedding gown. They both turned to look at one another and smiled.

Mace felt the peaceful affirmation of deja vu.

He glanced back to Yoda and the peace was suddenly shattered. A crease of a frown was on the Master's face, his ears were tilted back and drooped slightly. Not a good sign. Something was wrong, or was soon going to be.

Mace knelt down close to Yoda in order to keep their conversation confidential.

"What is it?"

Weary green eyes turned to meet his intense brown ones.

"A choice to made, there will be. A difficult choice. Most difficult for the senator. Their happiness, short-lived will be. The will of the Force, it is."

Mace glanced back up to the happy couple who were now kissing, resulting in increased cheering and applause from the crowd.

The newlyweds waved to their colleagues and friends and turned to re-enter the Temple.

Joy of the union was felt and shown on every face, except for the two Jedi Masters whose hearts were heavy.

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Padmé closed the last of Obi-Wan's bags and set it in the doorway of his Jedi quarters. Her things had already been sent to their waiting ship.

She knew that leaving the Temple was going to be difficult for him. There were so many memories here, but they had decided that they would live in her senatorial apartment for the time-being. It was close enough to the Temple to not interfere with his duties, and would allow them the privacy that they needed and desired.

Obi-Wan stood transfixed in front of the lone window in the room, looking out at the active bustling city. A slight twitch to his shoulders caused Padmé enough concern to walk to his side and look at his face. Startled by what she saw, she quickly ran to the 'fresher to receive a towel and clean away the blood that was oozing from his nose.

Obi-Wan's eyes refocused at the touch of the soft towel upon his face and he seemed surprised to see the redness staining it.

"Are you okay?"

His fingers were wiping away the last traces of blood and he looked at her with a gentleness and calmness to his features. It was a look of complete serenity; the same look he had been wearing ever since he had destroyed Sidious.

Padmé loved everything about Obi-Wan, but she found herself missing the previous quicksilver humor and wit that had so often put a glint in his eyes.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. Don't worry darling." He bent down and gently kissed her lips, but Padmé could not help but feel the urge of a warning in her heart.

They were following the droid carrying the last of their luggage to the ship when Obi-Wan's grasp weakened and suddenly slipped from hers. She screamed his name as he fell backward to the durasteel platform, blood once more oozing from his nostrils.

--------------------------------

Padmé paced, stopped, glared at the closed Healer's chamber door, and then paced some more. Beyond that door was the unconscious body of her husband, along with Masters Windu and Yoda. She had been told to wait. Padmé had always considered herself patient, but if someone didn't come out soon and talk to her, she would lose her sanity and her control.

The Healer had come and gone, and Yoda now sat on one side of Obi-Wan's bed, facing Mace who sat on the other.

"Will he make the right choice?" Mace glanced from the closed eyes of Obi-Wan to Yoda, whose eyes were just now opening from a meditative trance he had been in since coming into the room almost an hour ago.

"The Chosen One he is. The choice already has been made."

The words brought no comfort to Mace Windu. He had taken quite a liking to the boy, and now that he had come to terms with the fact that he was the Chosen One, he was going to have to let the boy...

No. The Force would not allow this. The Force wouldn't do this to the young man. "There has to be something we can do."

"Anything we do, complicate things it will. Interfere with the will of the Force will you?"

Mace considered his question for a moment. "No." He was a Jedi first and if this was what the Force required, no matter how painful, then so be it. "I admit I feel some regret Master Yoda. But mostly, I feel sorry for him, but not as sorry as I feel for her." Mace's head motioned toward the closed door.

"Yes. Difficult times ahead, but strong she is. A powerful leader she will be."

"Maybe we should let her in to see him now."

"Yes."

Mace rose to open the door, and immediately Padmé rushed in to Obi-Wan's side.

She was surprised at how he looked. Though still unconscious, his color had returned and he appeared completely normal.

She looked at Yoda, somewhat confused. "He looks..."

"We have placed a Force dampening field around this room Senator." It was Mace who interrupted her.

"Why? What's happening to him?"

The taller Jedi looked to Yoda for help. He was not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings.

"The Dark Side power, drawing it to him, Obi-Wan is. Much in Coruscant there is. Infected the city with it, Sidious did. Young Kenobi, absorbing it, containing it, within himself. At first, transferred it to the Force he did, but now, too much it is. It is.."

This time, Padmé interrupted him, her words sounding strangled. "It's killing him."

Yoda's silence provided the answer that she did not want to hear.

Mace placed a hand upon her trembling shoulder. "I'm sorry."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen 

"Chosen One... destiny..."

"...must stay...he'll die..."

"Decide, he shall...Let him go..."

"I can't..."

A broken stream of words from a two-way conversation were filtering through his fogged consciousness. Obi-Wan struggled to reach through that fog to make sense of what he was hearing. One of the voices he recognized as Yoda's and the other was Padmé's. His wife.

Disappointmentfor her pained him. They had been on their way to their honeymoon and now here he was once again in the Healer's wing of the Temple.

"Stop saying that!" Her words were loud and clear now, the volume of her voice pounding in his head. "The Chosen One you say? Chosen for what? Chosen to die? You can tell your precious Force to go choose someone else!"

A weary hand crept up off the bed and he whispered her name.

She was immediately there grasping his hand and kissing his face.

"Obi-Wan. I was so scared."

Her hands were caressing his face, stroking through his disheveled hair. He smiled a crooked smile at her and turned his eyes toward Master Yoda, who nodded his understanding and left the room.

"Padmé, listen to me." His own hands now cupped her face, his thumb wiping away a tear that fell from her eye. "I love you, but I'm still a Jedi. I have a duty to the Force. You must understand this."

"It's not fair."

"No, it isn't. Not to you. I wish I could spare you this, but you must allow me to do what I was chosen to do. I must fulfill my destiny."

"Why Obi-Wan? Why you?" At first she sounded childish, and now she sounded completely selfish. But in her grief, she discovered, she didn't care. She just knew that she had to keep him with her. Keep him safe.

"I don't know why. All I know is that I have this amazing opportunity and duty, not just to the Force, but to the entire galaxy."

"To Hell with the galaxy."

"Padmé, you don't mean that."

Exhausted by her frantic emotions, she collapsed to lay next to Obi-Wan as closely as she could, draping her arm across his chest. "I don't think I can go on without you."

"Listen to me. My duty is to rid the galaxy of the Dark Side. If the Force requires the sacrifice of my life, then I give it, willingly."

A sob erupted against his chest, followed by bitter words. "I can't believe you're saying this."

"It is something I do willingly Padmé, but not only for the Force, or even for you. I have my children and their future to think of." His hand moved to gently caress her stomach.

The sobs lessened and the small body draped across him rose to meet his gaze, wonderment written on her face.

"Twins Padmé. I have forseen it. Our son will be a great Jedi."

Padmé's eyes glanced away and Obi-Wan did not miss the bitter look of pain that flashed in them.

"He will be strong in the Force, but there will be no danger. There will be no Dark Side to threaten him. Have him trained Padmé. Do it for me."

A slight hesitation and then acceptance. "I will Obi-Wan. I promise."

"Our daughter will be an important leader in the New Republic. She will be beautiful, like you."

A gentle caress along Padmé's cheek brought forth a fresh burst of tears, as she lay her head back down onto his shoulder.

Silence filled the room for long moments before Padmé spoke once more.

"How long?"

"I'm not sure. Coruscant is clean, but there are other places where the Dark Side is strong. I must leave this room Padmé. I must fulfill my destiny."

"I understand." Tear-filled dark brown eyes lovingly gazed into Obi-Wan's before eyelids fluttered closed and red lips pressed firmly against his. "I'll go tell Master Yoda."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen 

A slight cool breeze wafts across the porch, fluttering his cream tunics.

A song from a native Nubian fowl echoes against the distant background of the forest.

The sky is rich with hues of purple and yellow as the sun retreats behind the heavily wooded hills, casting long colorful reflective shadows across the lake.

Obi-Wan takes a deep breath, drawing the peace and serenity of the surroundings into his soul. Peace and serenity for once instead of the dark power he had previously been gathering to himself.

Four months. He had denied the inevitable for as long as he could. He owed her that. She hadn't expected this, didn't deserve this.

But the Force was becoming impatient. The galaxy was demanding. It would not be long now.

------------------------------------------------------

Padmé sipped her tea, looking out the window at the lake retreat porch, watching Obi-Wan as he stood at its edge staring out at the waters. It had become his evening routine, and she had felt inclined to leave him alone to meditate.

Four months. They had come to Naboo where they had expected to spend their last days together, but for some reason, he was waiting.

Until she was ready? Until she could cope? How could she possibly ever cope with this?

Her hand absentmindely reached to the growing bulge of her abdomen. The lives she felt moving within her brought a peace and joy to her heart, albeit short-lived.

A glance back toward the lake, and the strong urge to join her soulmate overwhelmed her. Like all the nights before, this could possibly be their last one together.

The bare soles of her feet padded gently through the puddles on the stony porch left by that morning's rainfall. She stole silently up to his side and slipped her fingers through his.

He smiled slightly, she noted, and grasped her hand more firmly.

Neither of them said a word.

He was thinner now and he looked older somehow. Wiser. More beautiful than before, if that was possible.

She was going to miss him desperately.

His arm released her hand and moved around her waist. She leaned into his body and sighed, content for the moment, as the shrill cry of a nearby waterfowl filled the air.

------------------------------------------------

Obi-Wan leaned on his elbow and watched her sleep. Should he wake her and tell her? If he did, what would he say? Goodbye?

The word seemed insignificant. They knew this moment would come. He felt she was prepared, as prepared as one could be for such a time.

A gentle caress to her abdomen sent a wave of Force to the growing children hidden inside.

'I love you. Take care of your mother for me.'

He smiled as he felt the vibration against his hand as a small foot kicked out in response against the womb.

A gentle caress then to dark brown curls sent a wave of Force into Padmé's dreams.

'I love you sweetheart. I always have. I always will. You'll be fine."

Then a gentle kiss to her forehead, and Obi-Wan moved away from the bed, out the double glass doors and onto the porch.

Clouds were beginning to roll in from the East, bringing more rain, hiding the luminescent Nubian moon.

Obi-Wan moved to the edge of the porch once more and lifted both of his arms, outstretched toward the night skies. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and waited for the darkness to come.

-----------------------------------------------

Padmé was awakened by the sound of thunder. She instinctively reached across the bed, but found only cold and empty sheets. A sudden fear gripped her heart. She leapt up from the bed and hurried to the doorway.

A flash of bright blue lightning streaked across the sky and she saw Obi-Wan at the edge of the porch in his typical spot, but not in his typical posture. His hands were stretched out almost as if he were calling the lightning to himself.

And then Padmé realized what it was. It was not actual lightning from a storm she was seeing. It was the power of the Dark Side, and Obi-Wan was drawing the last of it to him.

Padmé had never actually witnessed the phenomenon before, but as the vision of what was going to happen came to her, she realized with great sorrow that this was the end. He had wanted to face it alone, but she found she just couldn't let him. She rushed out to him just as all the swirls of blue power converged into one and a huge bolt burst through the clouds and came crashing down, directly over where Obi-Wan stood.

He never heard the tortured 'No!' she screamed out.

She reached him just after it had struck, catching his lifeless body as he fell, weeping and holding him tightly against her, rocking him gently.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen 

Mace Windu waited with some trepidation for the arrival of their next guest. Senator Amidala was scheduled to appear before the Council in just a few minutes.

Her appearance was prompt but slightly unanticipated.

The obstinate young girl he knew from before had been replaced by a confident and serene looking young woman. There was assurance in her strideand seriousness to her countenance, but Mace could also detect a deep sorrow.

"Masters." She nodded her head dutifully to the six of the twelve Jedi in attendance, before reaching within her dark velvet robe and withdrawing a long silver object.

She looked at it longingly before approaching Mace and placing the lightsaber in his outstretched hands.

"He rebuilt this while on Naboo. He wanted you to have it."

A slight smile lit her face that did not quite reach her eyes.

"I am keeping the rest of his things, if that is all right with the Council."

Several of the members simply nodded their heads.

"We are sorry for your loss." Ki Adi Mundi said respectfully.

"It is a loss to us all. Kenobi will be missed." Adi Gallia added.

"Fulfilled his destiny, he did. Proud you should be." Master Yoda's words did not have their intended effect, as Padmé returned an empty smile to the Council before turning to leave.

Yoda spoke once more, stopping her movements and she turned around to face him.

"Go now, where will you?"

With slight hesitation, Padmé glanced around the room and once more focused on Yoda's concerned gaze.

"I've decided to retire from public service. I'm moving back to Naboo to be near my family."

A murmur of regret moved through the Council but Yoda nodded his head in understanding.

"You will be missed here in Coruscant, senator." Mace Windu meant his words and the sincerity of them did not escape her, as she genuinely smiled at him in return.

"Oh, you'll be seeing me again soon."

The darker Jedi's eyebrow shot up questionably.

"As soon as our son is old enough," she gently caressed the bulge of her stomach hidden in the layers of the elaborate Nubian gown, "I plan on bringing him back to the Temple to be trained as a Jedi."

Mace no longer looked surprised, but completely stunned. Padmé grinned just a bit wider before turning serious once more.

"I promised Obi-Wan."

A slight smile lit her face again and she turned and left the majority of the council members staring after her in silent awe.

Mace, as usual, turned to Yoda for answers, but to his surprise, the small Master held the familiar introspective look of an occurring vision of the future, and as usual, Mace urged him to reveal what he had seen.

A slight dread, as usual, filled his heart.

"What is it?"

Yoda turned to him, a wide grin distorting the wrinkles on his green face.

"Nothing." He replied. "All is well."

- FINI -

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AN: I am just slightly depressed now! I most definitely will have to redeem myself (and Obi-Wan) next time around with something HAPPY!

Argh! This was tough. I wrote this mainly as a challenge to myself -- just to see if I could pull off writing a tragic love story. I think I did.

You can blame Puccini and the Wachowski brothers for this one. (I was listening to Madame Butterfly a lot while I wrote this, and there are some similarities to the movie The Matrix in this story.)

At first, I thought I was going pretty dark by turning Obi-Wan into a Sith...but then I thought, Ok, I'll redeem him by making him the Chosen One. Yeah, that's good.

But then I thought, Hey! I'm supposed to be writing a tragedy here!

So, there wasn't anything left to do but turn him into a martyr. (Sorry about that!)

Hopefully I did it justifiably and believably.

Thanks for the reviews. The next one I write won't be so painful. I promise...I think. ; )

May the Force be with you all...


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